US jobs and wages rise in January

About 1 Year, 2 Weeks, 3 Days, 21 Hours, 11 Minutes ago.

The US labour market barrelled forward in January, as employers added more jobs than expected and wage growth was its strongest in more than eight years.US payrolls expanded by 200,000 last month, driven by hiring in construction, food services and health care, the US Labor Department said.
The average hourly wage for private sector workers crept up 2.9% compared to January 2017.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%.
Economists have puzzled over lacklustre wage growth, which has lagged in prior months despite the decline in the unemployment rate.

Without higher wages, economists have warned that economic growth will be difficult to sustain, since consumer spending plays a large role in the US economy.
The Labor Department report, released on Friday, showed average hourly earnings for private sector workers rose 9 cents in January, to $26.74. For the year, the increase was 75 cents.
The wage uptick coincided with mandatory minimum pay increases in 18 states. Major employers such as Walmart have also said they planned to boost earnings or provide bonuses.